A Fair Choice of Mushrooms

There was a choice to use any FungusAmongUs products (The name is laughable, but for mushroom lovers, like me, it sounds like pure joy). It was a tough decision, because I was too intimidated to pick the whole truffle. I wanted it, but it’s not nice to come off as a greedy food blogger. To ask for it means the recipe better compete with a top chef on the food networks. I tried writing recipes incorporating truffles, but they only needed simple (still delicious) mushrooms. For a long time, I was indecisive, because they’re many FungusAmongUs products to choose. The final choice was fair: flavorful dried chanterelle mushrooms and the exquisite truffle mustard.

For the first recipe, dried chanterelles were used in a savory, rustic pie with fresh kale and topped with a creamy parmesan sauce. It’s the same pastry crust used in the Ginger, Almond Pear Pie. The kale went nicely with the dried chanterelle mushrooms. For a last minute ‘wow,’ a parmesan cream sauce was not only drizzled over the pie, it was excessively poured. Next time, I’ll add minced mushrooms to the sauce to intensify the flavor.

The truffle was not chosen, because I recalled the dating advice from an old friend: Never order the most expensive dish on a first date. It’s good dating advice crossing over into my food blog, especially when developing food-related business relationships. If I had chosen the whole truffle, I would’ve felt compelled to use a famous chef’s recipe, because they’re too expensive to make a mistake. Choosing reasonably priced dried chanterelles allowed for stress-free creativity. Just like a first date, it’s better to start slow. Now, what I did with the truffle mustard (see the Facebook Photo here for a sneak peak) is another recipe publishing later with a FungusAmongUs contest announcement.

Pour boiling hot water over chanterelle mushrooms in a bowl. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Strain water from the chanterelles (save the mushroom water to use for soup). Roughly chop mushrooms and set them aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Mix in onions and stir until they're translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper, salt and fresh black pepper. Add chanterelle mushrooms and stir for less than 2 minutes.

Add kale and stir until they're just wilted. If the skillet is too dry, add a little of the reserved mushroom water or wine.

Loosely wrap pastry dough around a lightly floured rolling pin. Carefully unroll pastry dough over a parchment lined baking sheet. Using slotted spoon, place chanterelles and mushrooms in the center of the dough. Bring the edges of the pastry over the vegetables. Carefully pinch sides together. Don't worry about making the pie look pretty, because the pie should look rustic.

Brush melted butter over the pastry and vegetables. Place pie in the oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the pie is lightly golden brown and crispy.

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2 thoughts on “A Fair Choice of Mushrooms”

This looks so good Sanura! I love how the cream sauce was “excessively poured.” I love mushrooms and have made a point of eating more of them since learning how full of nutrients they are. I make sure to buy some every week! So many choices on the website! I’d probably choose “Your Kitchen Dried Shiitake.”